Contouring for pale skin

Pale skinned beauties may be horrified at the thought of contouring; 'It'll make me look orange!' you probably cry. The myth that adding definition to jawbones and cheeks is best left to those with naturally golden complexions is absurd, so we're here to give you a helping hand.

Firstly, you want a great base. As contouring is all about layering you want something that feels light but has a fairly decent coverage. Opt for a shade as close to your natural skin tone as you can, as when you're pale it can be easy to make your face slightly darker than it should be. If possible, something even lighter would be ideal.

A CC cream is the best place to start in order to banish any blemishes and even out your skintone. Kiehl's have a two-in one BB and CC cream; BB Cream Actively Correcting and Beautifying with SPF cream. This silky soft product will give you a flawless and lightweight coverage to build upon and blends in easily.

Once your base is applied you can start on the definition. Fair skin doesn't need deep powders to do this; even three shades below your normal one should be enough to do the job.

This is where a palette such as Smashbox's Step-by-step Contour Kit comes in; there's three shades on offer and each cater to different complexions. It's recommended for beginners (which you may well be if you've been too scared to try contouring before now) and comes with a brush too.

Or you could stick to a solo powder for this task - one good option is MAC's Studio Sculpt Defining Powder, which has a gel-formula and comes in eight shades.

Likewise many are turning to foundations for this stage to ensure a firm look - if you have a favourite budget foundation you can invest in a darker shade (as mentioned above, as little as three shades below normal) and use this.

Applying requires attention as with fair skin it's vital you don't go OTT. Cheeks to begin; suck your cheeks in to get the best idea of where to apply the shadow and start off lightly. Apply your darker powder using an angled brush to the area under your cheekbones and blend upwards very gently. Get yourself into the natural light to see the results as a bulb can give a false finish, and you can always add a little more if needed. Gently does it!

When looking in your mirror take notice of where the light bounces off your skin and these are the places you want to highlight - it'll more than likely be your cheekbones, brow bone and chin. You want the palest possible highlighter for this and apply small dabs in these areas. It will balance out the shadowy spots and bring out your true porcelain beauty too, just don't forget to blend properly as you don't want pale patches next to the darker bits!

Lastly you'll want a big, clean brush to sweep across all the lines to ensure everything merges together nicely.